PPL power line gets nod from National Park Service

Environmentalists upset over project that would cut through Delaware Water Gap.

March 30, 2012|By Spencer Soper, Of The Morning Call

In a big win for PPL Electric Utilities, the National Park Service has given support to the company's proposal for a high-voltage power line cutting through Delaware Water Gap, a project opposed by some environmentalists.

The park service on Thursday identified the route proposed by PPL and its New Jersey partner as a "preferred alternative" in its environmental review of the project. The distinction does not represent final approval — a decision is expected this fall — but it shows the agency siding with PPL over objections of environmentalists.

The park service has jurisdiction over part of the project that would pass through Delaware Water Gap, a national recreation area.

At issue is a proposed 145-mile transmission line from PPL's Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Salem Township, Luzerne County, to the Roseland substation near Newark, N.J. The $1.2 billion project is a partnership between PPL and New Jersey utility PSE&G.

The utilities maintain the line is needed to prevent power outages during peak demand periods and that the proposed route is preferable since most of it is along existing power line routes. Denying its passage through Delaware Water Gap would force them to cut through other communities and habitats, they said.

"We commend the National Park Service for its very thorough review, and for concluding that our proposed route provides the most appropriate balance of meeting society's energy needs while minimizing impacts to federal lands," Gregory Dudkin, president of PPL Electric Utilities, and Ralph LaRossa, president and chief operating officer of PSE&G, said in a joint statement.

Environmental groups have maintained conservation and alternative power sources such as wind and solar energy should be used to meet New Jersey's power needs, rather than a new power line that they say will destroy scenic views and natural areas.

"This is a shameful day in the long history of our parks and may set precedent for more gas and power lines through our parks," said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. "This decision is an insult to the more than 5 million people that visit the Water Gap every year."

Utility regulators in both states favor the project. And the proposed line got a blessing from the federal government last year when the Obama administration added the project to a list of power-grid upgrades that will get more rapid reviews because of their job creation potential. The line is expected to create 2,000 jobs during construction.

The park service expects to make a final decision on the project by Oct. 1. PPL and PSE&G hope to have the project completed by the summer of 2015.